Unit 2 Flashcards
A functional assessment method involving direct observation of the antecedents, the target behavior, and the consequences of the behavior.
ABC observation
An action that has sudden and dramatic consequences that extend well beyond the idiosyncratic change itself, because it exposes the person to new environments, reinforcers, contingencies, responses, and stimulus controls.
Behavioral cusp
A desirable target behavior that a person seeks to increase in frequency, duration, or intensity.
Behavioral deficit
An undesirable target behavior that a person seeks to decrease in frequency, duration, or intensity.
Behavioral excess
Disruptive behaviors which represent a major obstacle to habilitation. Severe aggression, self-injurious behavior, and violent tantrums are some of the behaviors that significantly restrict the lives of those who engage in them.
Challenging behavior
Direct observation of problem behavior and the antecedent and consequent events under naturally occurring conditions.
Descriptive functional behavior assessment
Behavioral evaluation involving direct observation and recording of the behavior as it occurs.
Direct assessment
An assessment protocol that acknowledges complex interrelationships between environment and behavior.
Ecological assessment
A hypothetical variable that often takes the form of another name for the observed phenomenon it claims to explain and contributes nothing to a functional account or understanding of the phenomenon.
Explanatory fiction
Designates responses as members of the targeted response class solely in terms of their common effect on the environment.
Function-based definition
An adjustment that occurs when a person’s repertoire has been changed such that short- and long-term reinforcers are maximized, and long- and short-term punishers are minimized.
Habilitation
A presumed but unobserved process or entity.
Hypothetical construct
Assessment of skills in the natural environment without the person’s knowledge that assessment is taking place.
In situ assessment
Assessment that relies on information from others.
Indirect assessment
An approach to explaining behavior that assumes that an “inner” dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension, and that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior.
Mentalism
